beauty & booty

sexy

Remember when dudes who were meticulous about their appearance were called ‘metrosexual’? According to Merriam-Webster, a metrosexual is “a usually urban heterosexual male given to enhancing his personal appearance by fastidious grooming, beauty treatments, and fashionable clothes.” This term was first used in 1994, which was a horrendous time for male fashion and maybe just fashion in general. Cher Horowitz said it best, ” It looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants and take their greasy hair – ew – and cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we’re expected to swoon? I don’t think so.” 20 years ago, looking like a slouch was the trend. Everyone was sagging their ripped jeans. I feel like the word has some kind of negative-ish conotation. I bet some bully coined the term ‘metrosexual’ while hating a dude who was looking pretty fresh. That’s just my guess.

I’ve always thought the word was silly. Then I realized I might hate this word because all of my male friends are metrosexual!!! JUST KIDDING. Ok, so I happen to live in an urban area where hetero males actually give a shit about what they look like. Can’t we all agree that a man who cares about his well-being and appearance is attractive? These days salons offer specific services for men and they have an ARRAY of beauty products to chose from, specifically made just for them. Dudes deserve to enjoy the same luxuries that we ladies do. /endrant

My BFF Adam works in the beauty industry and always has the best insider info on new products. (My secret is out!!) Adam also has a luxurious beard that I begged him to grow out for my wedding. He didn’t, but he had a five o’clock shadow and looked amazing. In the past couple of years, beards have experienced a revival. Generally viewed as a sign of rebellion or laziness, these days most can agree that beards are hot right now. Anyhow, Adam recently started using beard oil from The Bearded Bastard. This is a line of handmade products dedicated to FACIAL HAIR. Mountain men everywhere are rejoicing. Made with essential oils and other natural ingredients, a few drops of beard oil is meant to condition and make beards feel soft and luscious. The Bearded Bastard also carries beard combs, pomades, clays, and other products that will help you maintain that beard!

For my good pal Chip’s birthday, my h-band and I gifted him some Bearded Bastard goods. Uppercut Featherweight Pomade is a lightweight wax with a medium hold. Easy to comb, easy to get out and lemony scented! He says it is the best pomade he has every used! For $20-$30, you can get 1oz of beard oil of your choice OR they offer sample sizes for $5. Smelling the oils was the most fun part about giving Chip his gift.

Ok, does anyone remember when the first day of Spring used to be on March 21st? I have always celebrated on March 21st and thought it was strange when we all started celebrating one day early. Well, according to Space.com, the first day of Spring is technically on March 20, we just had it wrong for a 100 years or something. The bottom line is the IT IS FINALLY SPRING.

It’s finally time for bike rides & pastel pinks & booty shorts with knee-highs & wearing white!! I know the whole ‘white after labor day’ thing is so 80s, but I still like to give myself seasonal boundaries in my wardrobe & makeup.

I have been counting down the days til Spring because I have been dying to wear my Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa Skyscraper III shoes that I wore at my wedding! ( I swear, I’ll stop talking about it someday.) If you don’t own a pair of Melissas, please go buy a pair. This brand uses recycled plastic called Meflex to make their shoes, which makes them eco-friendly & sustainable. All of these shoes also smell like strawberries n’ cream. I was obsessed with the Skyscraper III for months and when I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy them, they were on super sale! We were meant to be! They were the perfect shoe for an outdoor wedding and now, I want to wear them ALL THE TIME. 5 inch heels are why I married tall. (Also, so my children can be Olympic Beach Volleyball players)

(So gorgeous, right?)

A few years ago, I gave up wearing Vans shoes. I thought I was too old to wear sneaks like that plus breaking in a pair of Vans is a long, painful process and all you get is stinky feet and blisters. An uneventful trip to the outlet mall lifted my ban on Vans, when I bought a pair of Mint Authentic Lo-Pro Shoes simply because I hadn’t bought anything else. A pity purchase, if you will but I scoured the rack for a size 8 and didn’t see my size until my second look. They were meant to be mine whether I liked it or not but obviously, I refused to wear them until Spring because of their pastel nature. And I didn’t want to ruin my soles on rain or ice, gross!! It’ll be nice to get back into a pair of Vans, I’ll just have to remember keep band-aids on hand.

PSA: With the first day of Spring brings open-toed shoes, let’s not forget our pedicures, PEOPLE!!!

My family gives me light roast coffee for Christmas EVERY year. I’m sad they don’t know that I like my coffee beans bold and essentially burnt, but who am I to complain about Christmas presents?

I was on my last half cup of the last bag of coffee when I ran out of coffee creamer. My breaking point. I would rather drink tea than drink this coffee black. I’m a coffee snob, so what. We all have our *things*. Instead of throwing it in my compost pile, I decided to make a cellulite body scrub! I based this decision off of the main ingredient in my boujie cellulite lotion, Caffeine. It is believed that caffeine can reduce swelling around fat and constrict blood vessels for a tighter appearance.

I found a recipe for a coffee body scrub on the Free People blog and of course, I modified it. I used eucalyptus epsom salt, instead of coconut palm sugar because a) that ish is expensive and b) epsom salt is great for flushing out toxins!

1/2 cup coffee grounds + 1/2 cup epsom salt + 1/4 cup coconut oil.

This coffee body scrub is perfect for March. The mixture of coffee grounds & epsom salt exfoliate and remove dead skin cells. My skin was super slick after using this scrub, but it was because my dry reptile skin really absorbed the coconut oil. I felt so smooth and buttery. Keep this mixture in an air-tight container and it will last up to a year. (Although, let’s be real, it’ll be gone by the Summertime.)

May I suggest doing this scrub 1 or 2 times a week? (May I also suggest investing in a drain catcher for this scrub? You don’t want to clog your tub, even in the name of beauty!) Enjoy!

I apologize for my absence, it has taken two weeks for me to recover from my two-week destination wedding vacation. I have SO many new products to review.

The makeup that I did for the wedding turned out amazing! I was so happy with the outcome despite being rushed, dripping in sweat for 5 hours, and an uncooperative false eyelash. I brought an entire makeup bag and only touched up my lipstick a few times. So glad someone captured me in my true essence, reapplying lipstick with anything that has a reflection! The honeymoon is officially over, now it’s March and time to get back to being luscious.

but let’s just say i’m no spring chicken. I was blessed with hereditary dark circles under my eyes and pulling an all-nighter will definitely amplify that look. At the beginning of last fall I purchased my very first eye cream, Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream. Origins is a luscious natural skin care brand that does not formulate their products with parabens, sulfates, or any other chemicals. Their products are plant based with organic ingredients. Major components of this eye cream are ginseng, caffeine via coffee bean, and magnolia extract which wakes up your eyes while giving them some much needed vibrancy. GinZinghas a pearlescent tint that brightens the eye with just small dab. If you are looking to create the illusion of a good night’s sleep, this eye cream is for you.

As a Judy, who is trying to reduce the signs of premature aging, I would like to thank GinZing for being my first eye cream! It has been great, but it is time for me to graduate to a new level of eye cream. While it works wonder for puffiness and circles, GinZing does very little for those pesky wrinkles around the eyes. Instead, I will pat a light layer of anti-aging eye cream under my eye and GinZing underneath my anti-age eye cream to add a hint of radiance. Just a little luscious secret.

This eye cream would be great for new moms (or all moms), insomniacs, and party girls. For $30 a jar and a shelf life of about 6 months, this is a nice reasonably priced product. Keep this your medicine cabinet, in case of emergency.

last night, i watched ‘when you’re strange‘ a film about the doors. definitely one of my all times favorites bands. the film is pretty epic. after seeing this, i dont think too much was exaggerated in the doors film that oliver stone made in the earlier nineties. how sexy is jim morrison? such a classic hunk, bedroom eyes, great jaw line, those lips! mmmmm! thanks jim for making this a very happy friday!

i was flipping through last week’s people, when i stumbled upon davey boy, the younger brother of james franco. mmmm mmm good, both of the franco brother’s can love on me… eat off me… and pray for more. right now, i’m under the weather and campbell’s is about all this mouth can feed. but, once i’m back on the streets, i’ve got a ski trip planned for these two luscious babes. (seeUrban Dictionary.com, definition #3)